Introduction

The Intro to Arduino shield is a simple kit which plugs into an Arduino Uno or similar. It includes a button, light sensor (LDR) and red green blue LED. The LED can be controlled as a digital or an analog output, the button is a digital input and the sensor is an analog input.

Learning Objectives

The purpose of this kit is to follow along with the 27 videos (on my Youtube channel), 25+ example codes (on my GitHub page), and slides (also on my GitHub page). By following the play list you can learn how to solder both surface mount and through hole components by building the shield. Then you plug it into an Arduino Uno and begin to write your first codes. It starts with turning a light on and then making it blink (digital output). I then demonstrate how to make an LED fade (analog output). Next I explain how to use buttons and give example codes (digital input). After that, I give examples of how to use a sensor which can output a range of values (analog input). Last, I cover non-blocking code.

Although you will have a working nightlight in the end, the purpose is not to build a night light. Rather, the point of this shield is to learn learn to solder and to learn the 5 core programming concepts that you will need if you want to build anything truly awesome (like an air quality monitor or a robot!).

Why did you make it?

I built this shield for 34C3 in order to teach people how to solder and program. Since then, I have successfully taught 600+ students at conferences including HOPE, 35C3, 36C3, Makers Faires in Berlin, Zurich and Prague, and local hackers spaces in Switzerland and the USA.